Morning Joe - Michigan AG won't attend state Democratic convention

Episode Date: August 5, 2026

August 5, 2026: Michigan AG won't attend state Democratic convention To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome back to morning, Joe, just before the top of the hour, 8 o'clock here on the East Coast, in most of Michigan. Four counties still in central time there. Michigan's closely watched Democratic Senate primary race still too close to call at this hour. Progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed remains in the lead and now categorized by our elections desk as the likely nominee. Congresswoman Haley Stevens trails by just over 19,000 votes. votes still coming in from Wayne County. El Sayed joined us here on Morning Joe in our last hour. Here is our conversation.

I think Mr. El Sayed, a lot of people maybe across the country who've been paying some attention have just tuned in now this morning. They wanted to see the outcome of this race, reading about you, learning about you, your history, some of your views, and where you might take the state of Michigan and what kind of United States Senator you potentially could become. Some people have painted you as extreme on issues like. like Israel, what is the core of your message? And if you do turn out to win this race,

what will have made the difference? We want to get money out of politics, put money in your pocket, pass Medicare for all. We started this campaign back in April of 2025, going to places big and small and across living rooms in Lansing and backyards in Grand Rapids

and VFW halls in Ascanaba and churches in Detroit. I heard what people were complaining about. They said, I don't know why it is this hard. It just shouldn't be this. this hard to afford a bag of groceries or to pay your rent or ever believe you could own a home or see a doctor in the richest most powerful country in the world or pay your taxes and believe that that money is being spent on you rather than being dropped in the form of bombs on somebody else. We've got an opportunity to bring ourselves back together, to come together around a movement,

to take our democracy back to make sure we have a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, rather than of the corporations, by the billionaires, and for the special interests. And that's exactly why. 70 million dollars was spent against me in this race. they see me as an existential threat to the system of politics that is making it way too hard on everyday people. But we're really proud of the movement we built and we're looking forward to defeating Mike Rogers in November. Mr. Senator, good morning. As we say, if you are indeed the Democratic nominee for Senate, you I'm sure have heard. Republicans are welcoming that. A lot of Republicans have made plain that they were hoping that you would emerge from this contest, that they like their chances with Mike Rogers against you going forward, pointing to the idea that Michigan was won by Donald Trump. two out of three times. Why do you think that what is to you, Rogers' biggest flaws as a candidate?

How would you make the case against him if indeed you are moving into the general election? Yeah, well, look, Mike Rogers served in Congress. He served the special interest in Congress, but says he served the state of Michigan. He did it for 14 years. He took, I don't know how much money, nearly a million dollars from the pharmaceutical industry, voted to raise prescription drug prices, helped to architect the legislation that kicked off the opioid epidemic. This is a guy who's never seen a corporate dollar he did not want to use to corrupt his office. He made $14 million after leaving Congress and moving to Florida to play golf, and he's back for a second helping.

We know that if we bring people together around a movement to take our politics back, we really can beat him. And what he's missing is that politics has changed since the year 2000 when he got to office. Now it's not enough to just get, what, $70 million? run 30-second ads on television, you actually have to stand for something. And this is a guy who doesn't want to actually explain why he's backing Donald Trump on the worst, most ridiculous war that we've seen that they swore up and down that we'd never fight. He doesn't want to explain why he drives an EV but doesn't want you to. He doesn't want to explain why he's okay

with everybody paying $5 gas because of adventurism abroad. So we're looking forward to forcing him to explain all of those things to the people of the state of Michigan and then sending him back to Florida so he can golf with his buddies. So you have syndicated in the past that support abolishing the immigration and customs enforcement agency, ICE. You know, certainly polls suggest that Americans are unhappy with the conduct of ICE now. That said, they also support President Trump's efforts in tightening the closing the southern border, tightening some immigration restrictions. So my question to you is, it's one thing to say, let's abolish ICE.

But then what do you replace it with? Well, as you well know, ICE has nothing to do with the southern border. That's customs and border protection. I believe in a secure border. I also believe in immigration enforcement, but I also believe in not shooting Americans in the back of the head in the face while you're trying to do it. And maybe it's because I've served in government agencies. But once a government agency like that is told that it has impunity to do the worst things and violate the highest law of the land, which is the Constitution itself, I don't think you can reform or retrain that. I think we need to start from scratch.

And ICE is not very old. It's 15 years younger than I am. It was starting. It started. It was a bad experiment. It's been weaponized to do the worst things. I think we need to abolish it and start from scratch, perhaps going back to something like the INS, which for a very long time, very capable enforced immigration policy without, of course,

shooting Americans and violating our civil liberties. Mr. Al-Said, you've been out there running for this seat for a long time. You've heard a lot, and you've said a lot in response to what you're here. I'm going to ask you a question pretending that I'm from Dearborn, Michigan, and I'm 43 years of age. I have a wife and two children, one in elementary school, one in high school. I work paycheck to paycheck. My wife and I both work paycheck to paycheck.

If one of my kids ever got sick, we're done. What are you going to do for me? I believe in Medicare for all. I mean, this is the cause of my career in public service. I know that right now too often, if you're living paycheck to paycheck, either you might be on Medicaid or you might have private insurance that you can't afford because you're deductible is what, $4,500 to $6,000, meaning you're going to go potentially into bankruptcy if you or one of your kids got sick. We can guarantee you health insurance without

having to worry about a premium, a copay, or deductible in the same way that we provide health insurance to our seniors, the people are most likely to get sick in our society. And on top of that, I think we can make Medicare whole for those seniors covering things like vision, dental, and hearing, taking away the spend down or the deductible, taking away the premium and offering it to everybody and making it more sustainable. We can do that. But the thing that's standing in our way right now is the power of big medicines, the power of big pharma. It's the power of big insurance, nickel and dimeing politicians, which is why I want to get money out of politics so that we can finally guarantee Medicare for all and get a little bit more money in your pocket.

Mr. El-Sahed, let's talk about foreign policy just a little bit. As you said, a moment ago, lobbying group spent a ton of money to defeat you. We'll see if they were successful when this race is called one way or another shortly. APEC was chief among them, spending tens of millions of dollars. They believe that you're dangerous for Israel. You think we should cut off military aid to the state of Israel. Can you explain your position on foreign aid as it applies to Israel, but also more broadly? Yeah.

Look, I just don't believe in unconditional foreign military aid. That includes Egypt. That also includes Israel, excuse me, Israel, but it also includes Egypt or my family immigrated from. And to me, that's because I believe that our kids have a right to. our tax dollars, that I'm about 10 minutes away from schools that look like they did 50 years ago. Our money should be spent here rather than sent in the form of bombs or tanks to foreign governments, particularly when they're doing the most heinous things with them, as is the case with the government of Israel. I also just believe in international law, and I think we need to

hold all foreign actors accountable to that international law. We've watched as Israel has conducted a genocide, has at baseline, done apartheid, and has taken us into a war. We have no business fighting. So why, of course, are we sending money to that country to fund their military? So is your complaint with the state of Israel, or is it with Benjamin Netanyahu and the way he has prosecuted this campaign in Gaza? Those things, of course, are inextricable. But I think we've seen the worst of what the Israeli government has done. But let's not forget that we've been talking about an illegal apartheid regime for a very, very long time. And that's who precedes Netanyahu himself. So I just think we need

to treat Israel the way we would treat any other country who behave the way that Israel is behaving. I understand that Netanyahu is a big reason why they've gotten so aggressive and frankly so bloodthirsty under his reign. But I also understand that it's impossible for us to say that we want a two-state solution while we've been aiding, arming, and abetting the very people who've been trying to foreclose on the possibility of a Palestinian state. And ultimately, in the end, I don't think any of us pay our taxes so that a foreign government gets a bomb or a tank. We pay our taxes so that our kids get good schools and functional infrastructure. And too many of our kids just don't have those things right now. So there are voters watching this right now in the state of

Michigan who supported Haley Stevens, Jewish voters who backed her because of some of what you just said there. What is your message to them? Because you are going to need them to win what's expected to be a very close race. My commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to the safety of my own kids. We have a responsibility to take on anti-Semitism. We have a responsibility to take on anti-Semitism in all of its forms wherever we see it. It's the same responsibility we have to take on Islamophobia. I know what it's like to be discriminated against for how I pray. I've experienced it myself and nobody should have to feel that in a country where we believe in basic freedoms. And so the things that bring us together are so much bigger than the things that divide

us. Whatever we may think about our funding for a government 6,000 miles away, I think we all agree about the funding for our schools that might be two miles away and the funding for our roads that we drive on to get there and the funding for our health care that we all need and deserve. So as I've always said to my Jewish sisters and brothers, I'm looking forward to fighting the fight against anti-Semitism and Islamophobia with you. I'm looking forward to joining you. If you open the door for me, I'm happy to come in. I'm looking forward to building relationships.

I hope that you'll join this movement. And in the end, what are we against? We're against somebody like Mike Rogers and Donald Trump. Donald Trump is a guy who has said the most heinous things and pushed a set of tropes. that are just deeply inconsistent with believing in freedom of religion in our country. We have to beat that, and I'm looking forward to partnering alongside you to do it. And just to put a fine point in this for those Jewish voters who may be now, considering you or an independent voter in the general election,

considering you versus Mike Rogers, do you believe we should cut off all support to Israel? I believe that we cannot continue to do unconditional foreign military aid. I believe that we have to follow our own laws, the Leahy laws, where we don't sell weaponry to countries that have engaged in human rights abuses. And that's the same approach that I take to Israel, which is the approach that I would take to the country where my parents immigrated from Egypt. I would also take it to Pakistan, and I'd take it to Saudi Arabia and Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. I just think it's about principle, and we need to be applying those principles everywhere.

Mr. Jesse, switching gears, there's been a lot of political commentary about how this race in Michigan for Democrats is almost like a stand-in, if you will, for a real debate within the heart of the party right now, the progressives versus the moderates. Do you view it that way as well? I mean, we've spent some time here this morning. Obviously, you and Ms. Stevens disagree on a lot of significant issues. You know, how are those fences mended? Is the Democratic Party able to be a big enough tent right now when passions are so inflamed on some of these issues?

This is not about the future of a party. This is about the future of the people of the state of Michigan who deserve to know that their roads are competent, deserve to know where they'll get their health care when they need it, who deserve to know that their kids go to great schools. That's what I'm focused on. And if more of us were focused on that, I think a lot of the bigger issues that we tend to fight on would become a lot clearer. We're against the way that outside money can buy politicians, can come in, flood elections, and too often there's a pro quo that comes with that quid. But here's the thing. The things that unite us are so much bigger than the things that divide us. So to anybody who might not have supported me in this primary, I'm asking you to join this movement, to get money out of politics, put money in your pocket, pass Medicare for all,

stand up to Mike Rogers and Donald Trump, take our democracy back against the power of big corporations who've rigged the system too often and help us defeat the kind of lawlessness that we've seen out of the Trump administration. And so this is a big movement. And in order for us to build together, we're going to have to be able to come together around the things that unite us. It's the feeling that we get when we look our kids in the eye. It's the feeling that we get when we think about what our country ought to be. And it's the opportunity we have to take on all that Donald Trump has done to corrupt our country and to corrupt our government. And finally, sir, you went to the University of Michigan.

Are you confident that Sparty fans also will come around to you? Look, as long as we're not going red and going to Ohio, I'm good with it. Okay. I think that's the correct answer in the state of Michigan. Democratic candidate for the United States Senate in Michigan, as we said now, the likely nominee as our elections desk is categorizing it until this race is called Abdul Al-Said. Mr. El-Sahed, thank you very much for your time this morning. We appreciate it. Thank you for having me. That was our conversation with Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan, Abdul-El-S.ayette.

And we'll be right back with President Trump's new comments on the economy and the grade he's giving himself. President Trump is there in Las Vegas this morning ahead of a rally at a casino later today. The White House says the president is there to talk about his signature tax cuts and other economic policies. In an interview last night with Fox News, the president said his polling on the economy should be higher. He also predicted a steep drop in gas prices. Then they saw in the economy, Trump is at 42%. I shouldn't be for it. We have the greatest economy, maybe in the history of the world for any country,

of 19.2 trillion dollars being invested in the United States. I think we're going to have it coming down. The oil companies have to start going. They're making too much money, and they've got to start lowering it. But we're going to be down into the threes and maybe the twos pretty soon per gallon. We'll see what happens with the war. We have a very good day today. They don't like to say that the Iranians, they always like to say, we didn't discuss that.

People have found out that's not true. But if the straight opens up and it's partially opened anyway, And as you know, we control the straight totally through the blockade. But if we have no friction, then oil will go down to, I think it'll go down to two and a half. Then I read where we're doing badly on the economy. By the way, job numbers. We have more people working in the United States today than ever in history. We're doing an unbelievable job.

Costs are coming way down. I inherited, you know, they talk about costs. I inherited very, very high costs. and they're all coming down now. The food, the groceries. It's all coming down. We've done a great job. You know, I think we should be given an A-plus on the economy,

but I think that's coming. People are starting to talk about it. A-plus, many voters disagree. Let's bring an MS-Now contributor, Mike Barnacle. Mike, a lot in there. As always, the president sees record highs in the stock market and says, the economy's doing great. It sure is for some people, but remains a daily struggle for most Americans.

of Trump world, as he explains it, is really so irrational, so out there, so apart from what happens every day in people's lives in this country. If you look around the country, if you feel for the country, if you do your own grocery shopping, if you just walk around and talk to people, this is a paycheck to paycheck economy for huge, huge numbers of people. And everybody running for public office this fall, Republican or Democrat has got to answer the question, paycheck to paycheck. That's me. What are you going to do for me and my family? Forget all of the other stuff that that guy is talking about just then. What are you going to do for me and my family? Sam's time. President Trump gives himself an A or A plus, but voters, at least in per polling,

far less generous with their marks for him right now, as we are now in early August, the midterms three months away. And look, the economy is, there are other issues of play here, but the economy is course going to be at the forefront for voters' minds this fall. And frankly, Trump's, it's not just the economy is not working for many, it's that he doesn't seem to be able to realize that, that inability, that disconnect, that inability to have sort of any sort of understanding it would appear of how so many Americans are struggling. It's that, that sort of obliviousness that also worries Republicans as they head into the fall. They just, they and their party seem out of touch. Can you get a grade higher than A plus? Can we go higher? But I'm sure, it's a failure

of imagination that he didn't get himself an A plus plus. No, you hit the nail in the head. It's, I mean, it's not surprising because Trump's not capable of doing anything other than bragging about how great his presidency is. So I don't, I'm not shocked that he gave himself that. But at the same time, I think it's understated how damaging those comments really are politically for him. Because if you're a voter out there and you're struggling, and there's lots of people out there who are struggling, you don't need to just look at data. You can talk to folks. and you see the president

saying things are great. You should be giving me an A plus. You know, cost of living. What is that? It's just a made-up thing. I've got these things down. You know, it seems so detached and so insensitive

that you have to wonder why he's not being more empathetic, why he can't bring himself to say, I'm working on it. I understand, to quote Bill Clinton, I feel your pain. He's not capable of it, and it's going to really,

harm him in his party. You know, I'm just being told, Sam, that an interview a couple months back with Politico, Donald Trump, I'm not making this up, gave himself an A plus, plus, plus, plus, plus, plus, six pluses. So you were under something there with your analysis. It's like things are getting worse. Yeah, exactly. It's like one of those razors.

Yeah, it's like one of those shaving razors where you keep adding blades. He just keeps adding pluses, right? It's like the seven plus. Yeah, he's down to one today, so maybe that says it. By the way, on his claim that he says there are more people working than ever before, that's true, but experts say that's, of course, because of population growth. There are more people, therefore more people working. There's a lot to sift through there.

Coming up, one of our next guests says the fight between the Democratic establishment and outsider Democratic Socialists of America candidates isn't about revolution. It's about the economy. MS now senior business analyst, Stephanie Ruhl, joins us with her take on what is driving the party's primary battles ahead of the midterms. You're watching Morning Joe. We'll be right back. America can do glorious things, but to love America isn't just to dress up in some colors and pretend that everything's fine. To love America is to will America to do the hard work of being better.

If you love America, you want America to be America for all of her kids. The thing our country has always done better than anyone else is that we've been able to look at those failures in the eye and correct them. It's not because we ignore our challenges. The greatness of America is the ability to see those challenges and fix them. That was progressive candidate in the Michigan Democratic Senate primary, Abdul El-Said speaking with reporters last supporters last night. He is now the likely Democratic nominee. Despite the race remaining too close to call as of this moment, some votes still coming in from Wayne County. You can see the current margins right there.

Joining us now, opinion writer of the New York Times, Margey, back with us. And coming to the table, we have the host of Politics Nation on MS Now, the Reverend Al Sharpton. He's also, of course, the president of the National Action Network. Contributing opinion writer for the New York Times, Molly Jung Fast, and MS now senior business analyst and host of Money, Power Politics, Stephanie Rule. Great group. Thanks for you all for being with us. And Steph, you've got a brain new piece out on MS.com. arguing that the fierce primary battles we're seeing play out across the country between the

Democratic establishment and the outsider Democratic Socialists of America all come down to one thing, no matter what state we're looking at, including Michigan, and that one thing, the economy. A hundred percent, right? This election, Donald Trump's failing poll numbers are about the economy, right? When you're seeing voters push back against establishment Democrats, it's about the economy. This idea that, oh, no, voters want the. radical ideas like defund the police.

It's not about they want defund the police. They want to fund their basic lives. They want to be able to put gas in their car and go to the grocery store and actually get a leg up. And what's interesting is, you know, assuming El Cayed is the nominee, we know that we are now going to see this Republican war chest of money flood to the state of Michigan. Call this man a communist. Save the DSA.

He's ready to take capitalism away. But here's the challenge. What happens when they go to campaign? because what this man is actually campaigning on is affordability and accountability. At the same time that Donald Trump is saying, you should give me an A plus for the economy, when the majority of the American people who are not invested in the stock market, which is booming, are saying, hold on a minute. The war in Iran has made my life cost more money.

The trade war has made my life cost more money. And mass deportation has made my life cost more money. So what's going to be really interesting is they're going to paint El-Sai-ed in this certain way, and they're going to use the DSA as this boogeyman, when at the end of the day, the majority of the American people don't like any politicians. They're sick of the whole system,

and they're simply saying, this system doesn't work for me. It hasn't worked for me in the last four years, eight years, 10 years, and I want something different. So the answer is going to be, who can make the best argument to say, I see you,

I feel you, less address affordability, which is how Donald Trump was elected in 2016, but just did never address it. Right. And every election, it's different, of course,

but we've seen this playbook work. The progressive candidate uses the word affordability. Every third word, that was over on Mamdani. That's why it worked here in New York City. El Cade, certainly we had him on our ear just a short time ago, hit that over and over rev, the idea that, yes, we got to get big money out of politics, but we also have to make life more affordable

for those who live here in Michigan. He kept returning to that. So give us your sense here, because Steph's right. The attacks are coming. Is he going to be able to assertioning? assuming he is the nominee, escape them. I think the affordability is absolutely the issue, but I think where they're missing

in some of the progressive leaders, and I've talked about that, is there is also inequality in affordability. And I think when you see this race in Michigan, that's a cliffhanger. I think he'll pull out. And the fact is where his week of vote came is in black communities because they're not talking about race.

The progressive movement has seemed white at the top. So you're not energizing people who have the most affordability problems because there's a race gap even in those that are at the lower tier. And other than Ocasio-Cortez, I haven't seen a lot of the progressive leaders reach out to the black community. I think Mondani has tried to do that well here. Look at what happened with Cory Bush and, of St. Louis, she lost with Bernie Sanders and them going in there.

So I think that what the progressives have to do is not look like the new guard that is really exclusionary. They've got to talk about affordability as well as the race gap. Black unemployment is almost double out of white unemployment at any level. And you must make that if you're going to energize the black base. I think El Saeed will pull out, but I think the note to him is it wouldn't have been this close if you had more solid black support. You also need to be a world-class political athlete. If they're actually going to take this lane that they want to take money out of politics,

there's tons of voters that would say, yes, I want big dollars out of politics, but here's the thing. That's not how the system currently works, right? Citizens United was overturned 16 years ago. We just saw the Supreme Court's most recent decision only helps put big money into politics. And so I don't understand unless you are a true Mamdani-style politician who, who can really reach and touch the people and get that retail politics working. I don't know how you can take politics, take the money out of politics and win in a game

when there is going to be more money than ever in these elections. Because rich people have gotten enormously rich in the last two years. They have direct influence over our politicians like they never have before. And they're going to be putting huge money in these races. Look no further than Thomas Massey in Kentucky when he lost. When the biggest donations against him were from people who, who have never set foot in the state of Kentucky, nor will they ever. And I'll say it certainly tapped into, Mara, this anger against the money in politics.

But we were talking about it earlier. This is a particularly bruising primary fight. And I do think that the work is going to start with him, that he, assuming he is the nominee, he's going to have to have a little more of an inclusive message to fellow Democrats. He's going to have, there's some, clearly some hurt feelings here. You know, and he's going to have to try to work with those who didn't vote for him to say, look, we've got to come together. Otherwise, we're giving Republicans a very winnable sentencing. Yeah, I'm going to return to Mamdani, the mayor of New York here, because what he did after he won a bruising primary battle here is win on a massive charm offensive.

And that, assuming El-Sayed is the nominee, that's exactly what he needs to do. And not just a charm offensive, but he needs to spend time with voters who disagree with him. He needs to spend time with Jewish voters. He needs to spend time with black voters, particularly in Detroit, but elsewhere in the state. And some of that is honestly just going to be a case of getting to know him and getting to know someone. Other people he may not be able to convince. And that's okay. But he's got to bring this coalition together.

The establishment Democrats are going to have to help him, including the governor of Michigan and also the former governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm, who's also played a role in this race, both very popular. You know, the establishment should have a little bit of humility here because not only does it look like they lost this race, but they have struggled to actually win races with moderate establishment candidates against Republicans. So there's an element of, we assume that it's going to be harder for El-Syad to win in a general election. But I think we should question those assumptions because voters, when you talk to voters, which I've done a lot of in the South, in Michigan, they are looking for fighters. That is true of independence, too.

That's true of people who have gotten tired of Donald Trump and are looking for an alternative. So in some ways, El-Sayed's constant criticism of the Democratic establishment is going to have a much broader audience than people think. And I just wanted to, just to your point, Stephanie, about affordability. The difference for the progressive fighters that have been successful, the most successful at every level so far in this country in this cycle, is that the progressives are naming a villain. So they're not just talking about affordability like the establishment Democrats are. They are saying this is a top-down fight because we're the little guy, you're the little guy, and the villain is corporate America. The villain is Donald Trump and corruption. Okay, but there is a counterpoint that when we keep saying that like the establishment,

aren't fighters, you can't tell me that Corey Booker and Sheldon Whitehouse and Adam Schiff weren't fighting when they were watching that Todd Blanche confirmation hearing yesterday. The problem is they're not in power and they will not be in power unless they start winning the Midwest and winning those mid-state. That's the tension here, electability versus we also should, of course, not downplay the energy the progressive movement has right now. Mara, you mentioned that L.C. were he to be the nominee, does need to reach out to certain voting groups, including Jewish voters.

In our interview with him a short time ago, he was very critical. of the state of Israel, but did say he would protect Jewish voters in Michigan where he elected. Well, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says she will not attend the state's nominating convention for Democrats later this month because she does not feel safe to be there. The nonprofit news outlet Michigan Advance reports Nessel made that announcement last week at a roundtable discussion with Jewish leaders and community members from around the state. Nassau, who is Jewish, citing concerns about anti-Semitism within the Democratic Party, said this. I don't want to get harassed.

I don't want to get yelled and screamed at. I don't want to get booed off the stage irrespective of what I'm saying. And I believe that if I go, that is what will happen because it's been happening to me. A spokesperson for the Michigan Democratic Party said in response to Nessal's comments that the party is committed to, quote, ensuring party hosted events are safe and secure environments for all attendees. And Molly, this right here sort of showcases some of the tensions. that not only are there in Michigan, but this fall, and unlikely in 2028, I mean, Israel is going to loom so large for Democrats. Yeah, for sure. I mean, I just want to go back to a larger point here about this primary election, which is that Dr. Saeed is a doctor who served at the state level.

And so he has actually a real window on affordability in a way that I think if he were really careful, he can explain that. And again, Steph has a really good point about affordability, right? Affordability is the issue. And what we saw with Donald Trump in 2024 was he ran on affordability. And he couldn't, and he just, then he just won and ignored it and moved on. Worse than ignored it. Right. And he made it worse, but with tariffs.

And so I do think that when you look at Saeed, he has served in this, in this administration, you know, at the state level. And so he has in the Michigan administration at the state level. So he really does have insights into how to make health care cheaper. And I think that's really important. But I think we've got to also look at affordability to who. Right. Because affordability is not the same thing in every community. And that's what I think his vote shows.

Because he should have been run away with the black vote. He was not. And the same thing has happened to other progressives. And I think that they've got to understand. that we're not looking for better slave masters. We're looking for freedom. We're looking for equality. And that is what they're missing other than somebody.

I think Ocasio-Cortez has come out ahead and Mandani to try to say, wait a minute, we need to reach out here because a lot of the communities that they could make the difference in terms of winning, they're not playing to as well as they should and could. But what I think is missing here is this is really a candidate quality issue as much as anything. like, we see really good candidates win. And I mean, if you, and there's a real question here on the Republican side.

You know, the Republicans picked a candidate who was a very capable candidate. I mean, you can say what you want. But, like, the Democrats did not go in. You know, Haley, there was a big question of whether Haley Stevens was a better candidate than Mallory McMorrow. Yeah, and Republicans, they picked a, you know, talented candidate, the one they can tie to Donald Trump. Right. Considering how unpopular Trump is, that will be certainly an advantage of Democrats. And they've pledged.

Officials in that state say these conventions later, this week later in the month will help bring the party together. As this issue with the Attorney General says, they're going to have some work to do. Reverend L. Sharpton, thank you so much for joining us this morning. Stephanie Ruhl. Thank you as well. We're going to be handing off coverage to you in about 19 minutes, top of the hour. And you can read her a new piece online at MS. dot now. Coming up here, it's everything you always want to know about thin mints, but we're afraid to ask.

That's how the Boston Globe describes a new. Girl Scouts documentary made with surprising honesty and more than a little bite. The director of Cookie Queen's will be our guest, along with one of the scouts featured in the film that's straight ahead here on Morning Joe. Set your goals. My sister went to Europe and that's where I'm going to. Very good salesperson. Oh, I'd like to be a Supreme Court justice. The scout makes a goal and tries to accomplish it or go past it. That hurt.

Just to pull that big wagon. Chuka, chooka, chooka, chooka, chooka, chooka, chooka. Yes, that was a look at Cookie Queens, the new documentary in theaters this Friday. The film follows four tenacious young Girl Scouts as they navigate the highs and lows of cookie selling season, going beyond thin mints and tag-alongs to explore topics like girlhood, parenting, and the intersection of innocence and ambition. joining us now the director of the documentary, Alyssa Namias, and Olive, who just saw a feature in the film. She is a Girl Scout from Troop 219, and I'm just going to say this right now, Samoa's are the best Girl Scout cookie.

There will not be a debate on this. We buy, thank you. We buy boxes of them every year. I do have to speak up for the thin men people. They're slightly disappointed that there aren't some on set at this moment. Alyssa, talk to us about where this documentary. came from. It's, obviously, it's very charming, but there's more to it than just a woman'sical look. What was the origin? Totally. So it's my fourth feature doc as a director,

and my kids saw my last film and said they really liked it, but also could I make one that they really want to share with their friends? And so I took that, you know, that challenge. And we did a wide casting search once I realized that Girl Scout, the Girl Scout cookie sale was this intersection of girlhood and the economy and a way to think about the larger issues around coming of age in America today for girls. And so we did a big casting call and found amazing Girl Scouts everywhere, including Olive and the three others featured in the film. And we see them not just selling cookies, but also grappling with what it means to be a girl today. The way the world sees girls and the way we see ourselves are not always in sync. And the film

explores that and explores the pressures the pressures on kids today. I, when I, when I, I have a daughter who did Girl Scouts, and what is so interesting to me is there's so much sort of unpredictability with selling the cookies, what people say to you, what it's like now, multiply that times four times a movie. Tell us what was surprising about this, what you didn't think was happening, what you learned. And I'm curious, Olive, how did this go differently than you thought it might have? Well, we filmed during the 2024 cookie season, and so the whole cookie season, and it's in different parts of America. So all is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. We also filmed in Southern California, El Paso, and several other places. And so you see kind of how things differ in different geographies, different backgrounds, different parenting styles, and different communities.

But there's also a lot of love and support for these kids. And I think that was something that was consistent and that was really heartening to me right now when we live in sort of divisive times to see how much we have in common. And I was surprised at how much these girls work, you know? The girls who are really passionate about it, they're not just, like, their parents are not doing it for them. They're going out there, they're interacting with people, and it's pretty amazing. Yeah. I have been on TV before because I'm kind of, I was a media girl from my council, but being followed around by a camera was a completely different feeling because, like, when you go to a news interview, you sit there, you have the interview, and then you're done. But when

the camera is following you, they're like, they're everywhere. So sometimes me and my friend Celia, we would be chatting and they'd be like, oh, wait, you should get that on camera. Olive, what is your best day that you've had selling cookies so far? What did that look like, and where did you sell them? Oh, that's hard. I sell cookies a lot. So I don't know if I can say specific day, but it's always fun to sell Girl Scout cookies, no matter what day it is, or where I'm selling. Yeah, and they do, it's big business. So Girl Scouts sell about $800 million of cookies every year, and these girls are not just

like practicing to participate in the economy. They are not just rehearsing. They are very actively engaged in selling and learning the highs and the lows of that. some of the challenges that we face when trying to do our work. And using the frame of the Girl Scout Cookies to look at Americana, to look at what it's like to be girls today. Very, very clever. It's a delightful documentary.

Cookie Queens is in theaters this Friday, August 7th. We should note, produced by Megan Markle, director Alyssa Namius and Olive, a member of Troop 219. Thank you both very much. Congratulations on this. Next time, Samoa's please. And we'll be right back with more. Good morning, Joe.

Welcome back. We've got some breaking news this morning. Congressman Chuck Edwards of North Carolina is dropping his re-election bid. He made the announcement in a social media post overnight, writing, quote, after much prayer and reflection, I've decided to withdraw from my reelection campaign. I will complete my current term. Pressure has been mounting Edwards to step aside since the Ethics Committee released a report on Monday, stating he has persistent, unprofessional, and inappropriate conduct toward two young female staffers. Edwards has called those allegations baseless.

Meanwhile, defense lawyers say that Department of Justice knew or should have known that its case against former Olympian David Hearn was flawed and that he was not responsible for damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. In a sudden reversal on Friday, U.S. attorney Janine Piro moved to dismiss the indictment against Hearn, saying that new evidence showed the pool damage stem from a botched contractor installation. Hearn's lawyers have asked a judge to permanently dismiss the case against him to prevent the Trump administration from ever reviving it. Prosecutors have also moved to drop charges against three additional defendants who are also accused of vandalizing the pool without any firm evidence. But President Trump is refusing to say whether or not Piro's job is safe. Here's what Trump told reporters on that late last night. Well, I just think it was totally wrong. They did a beautiful job. There were a couple of little things, but that was not a big deal. And everybody saw the vandalism. All you have to do is look at the tape. If you look at the tape, plus we have a witness or two witnesses that saw the vandalism. So certainly when there was vandalism, it was actually, in my opinion, it was major vandalism. And I told her I was not happy. Are you going to keep from the victim?

I haven't made a determination. Trump on a trip out to California, Nevada. The New York Times is reporting that Puro confronted Interior Secretary Doug Bergam in a tense Oval Office meeting on Monday after Trump had accused her of choking and, quote, folding like an umbrella by withdrawing the charges in that reflecting pool case. The Times says Trump was furious with Puro for contradicting his longstanding and very baseless claim that was promoted by Bergam that vandals were responsible for. for the reflecting pool damage. According to people briefed on the meeting, Piro accused Bergam of misleading Trump by promoting a self-serving cover story to hide his own failures overseeing the rushed and shoddy $16 million pool renovation, but it seems like her job not quite safe yet.

That does it for us this morning. Thanks so much for watching. We, of course, we'll see you tomorrow again at 6 a.m. Eastern for another morning, Joe. Money, power, politics. Stephanie Rule starts right now.